


Inside Job

by GlitchySleepwalker



Category: No Straight Roads (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Character Death, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-05
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:27:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894431
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GlitchySleepwalker/pseuds/GlitchySleepwalker
Summary: Based on the headcanon that all the 1010 androids are replicas of Neon J's former crew from his time in the Navy, and that 1010's attacks reflect their deaths. This one is about the red android/Zimelu.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 40





	Inside Job

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote this during my break at work so it is what it is.
> 
> Zim is the name I'm using for him, but he is very much human at the moment.

Their ship was boarded, those who fought on deck were slain by both pot shots taken by the attacking ship, and by the volleys of plasma from those who made it aboard. Laser rifles sang, and plasma canons answered. Every shot from the enemy ship tore holes in the ships shields, their defenses crumbling under the superior firepower. 

Zim knew the fight up top was useless at the first shot. They were too exposed and soon they would be overwhelmed. They needed help. Zim would get them help, he swore he would. That or die trying, anyway.

He ducked and weaved around the fallen bodies and still molten metal, sliding under some hastily made cover with plasma shots hot on his trail. The nearest door was just another sprint away. He poked his gun out of the cover to blindly trade fire with the enemy. Each shot of plasma was carefully counted, and when he knew they would need to change cells he made a break for the door.

Once inside, he knew he had to be quick... Lucky too, if the smell of blood and ozone was anything to go by. Guided by the red lights of the emergency backup power, he rapidly descended into the belly of the great metal beast. He could only pray he would ascend the stairs and see his team when this was all done.

Zim desperately ran for the communications room, he had to try and contact someone. Anyone. They fell into a trap, an ambush, maybe an inside job and now everyone was going to die. He had to do something.

The combat followed close behind Zim, devolving into a desperate melee within the tight corridors and cramped rooms of the ship. Zim pushed past attackers and stepped over bodies of comrades who had fallen so young. Just like he would. Just like his friends would if he didn't move... NOW.

The communications room was destroyed. Zim knew it was an inside job. Must have been, they knew just what to take out and where it all was. There was no hope in here, a lesser man would have given up, but not Zim. He gathered up what he could, recognizing certain parts and taking them for his grand plan. He needed to extend the range on his personal communicator. Send a plea for help to anyone who could hear.

He did what he could with a roll of tape and the hope of a hundred dead men. It wasn't pretty, but by God it worked. They had a fighting chance, they could get help and push the invaders back.

He took shelter in the workshop, hiding in a cabinet with a pieced together communicator. He begged into the receiver for help, that his fellow crew would die. That--

BANG. The room fell into pitch blackness, the emergency bulbs shot out. The smell of ozone that every shot of plasma left behind told Zim that he was cornered. He sent out the message he had. This was it.

One deep breath. He loaded his gun. 10 shots to make count.

Another breath. He adjusted his medals. Stalling for time. He knew what was next.

A third breath. He crept out of his hiding place.

Zim navigated the room with only the red glow of his lazer rifle to guide him. He was dead silent as he moved, sweeping the room as his dear friend NJ had taught him. He goes to check another corner, head trained forward, but eyes darting around the room for any thr--

FWOOM-- A shot nearly melting his face, but he was a step too far away. The light from the plasma renders him blind for the moment. He let loose a shot toward where he thought the plasma had come from.

He heard the sound of another shot and felt the heat graze his ear. Zim stumbled around the room, he fired his riffle off at every sound. His vision returned, only to be greeted by the sight of an enemy uniform charging him.

They swung their plasma rifle at Zim, he blocked it with his own laser rifle. The attack broke his rifle, the bulky build of the plasma rifle easily smashing the sleek laser rifle. Refusing to go down without a last hurrah, Zim smashes his rifle into the barrel of the plasma rifle, compromising the mechanism. 

Without any guns, the fight turned into a brawl. Blows were exchanged, uniforms torn and bloodied, then one good hit took Zim to the ground. His vision once again compromised as he attempted to crawl towards the attacker and pull him to the ground. He was only rewarded with a swift kick to the head for his efforts.

Zim could barely make out muffled cursing and the sounds of rummaging between the thumping in his head and the pain shooting through his body. The sound of the saw table turning on broke through the fog in his head. A hand reached down, knocked Zim's hat off and grabbed a fistful of his hair.

The second the attacker started dragging him towards the table, Zim put up a fight like no other. Kicking, clawing, screaming, Zim threw every last bit of what little energy he had left at them. It didn't stop them from hoisting him up onto the table. Zim could only push himself away from the spinning blade for so long.

The attacker. The enemy. Death incarnate. Whoever they were, they put all their weight on Zim.

His arms gave out.

The blade made contact. The last thing Zim saw is red. The last he heard is the sound of ally ships responding to his looping call for help. The last thought he had, while cut short, was one of relief, knowing his friends could still be saved.


End file.
